Mackey: One Red Rose to Receive World Premiere at Carnegie Hall
Brentano String Quartet to Give World Premiere of Steven Mackey’s One Red Rose at Carnegie Hall
A co-commission from Carnegie Hall, Yellow Barn, and the Nasher Center to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Steven Mackey’s One Red Rose will receive its world premiere by the Brentano String Quartet at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, February 12. This three-movement work examines the public and personal response to a national tragedy that affected the sociopolitical atmosphere of the world.
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In Mackey’s own words, he explains: “In the midst of this public crisis I have particular empathy for the personal tragedy felt by his family. One individual in particular that I drew inspiration from was Jackie, the First Lady who gracefully navigated through one extreme situation after another during this time. She becomes the most vivid symbol of the way the assassination traverses the public and the private. The highly structured protocol of a state funeral provides an opportunity for the world to pay its respects and gain some modicum of closure. However, this is just the beginning of the grief process for those closest to the deceased. Jackie is suddenly a widow with two small children. She had been devoted to her family and supporting her husband’s political career and now she must move out of her residence and reinvent her life.”
Another of Mackey’s works will receive its world premiere in Long Beach, CA on April 27 when the Long Beach Symphony performs Urban Ocean, a co-commission from the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Long Beach Symphony.
Steven Mackey has been honored by numerous awards including a Grammy, several awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim fellowship, Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center Friedheim award and many others. He has been the composer-in-residence at major music festivals, including Tanglewood, Aspen and the Holland Festival. His Kickstarter-backed commission Prelude to the End was premiered by SOLI Chamber Ensemble in May 2012; SOLI recently received the prestigious CMA/ASCAP "Adventurous Programming Award.”
Other upcoming North American premieres of Steven Mackey’s works include:
March 9, 2013
Four Iconoclastic Episodes (Canadian premiere)
Pekka Kuusisto, violin / Steven Mackey, electric guitar / Toronto Symphony Orchestra / Carolyn Kuan
Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, ON, Canada
April 5–7, 2013
Stumble to Grace (US West Coast premiere)
Orli Shaham, piano / Los Angeles Philharmonic / David Robertson
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, CA, USA
April 27, 2013
Urban Ocean (World Premiere)
Long Beach Symphony / Enrique Arturo Diemecke
Long Beach Performing Arts Center – Terrace Theater, Long Beach, CA, USA
> Further information on Work: One Red Rose
Photo credit: Jane Richey